COATED GLOVE FOR REMOVAL OF PET HAIR OR DEBRIS

Abstract

A coated glove for removal of pet hair or debris is provided. In one embodiment, the glove is made from a cotton or cotton/polyester blend. At least the palm side of the glove is coated with a tacky thermoplastic rubber. Debris present on a surface adheres to the tacky thermoplastic rubber as the glove is wiped across a surface. The glove may completely cover the fingers of a user, or may cover only a portion of the fingers.

Description

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/181,455 titled “Coated Glove for Removal of Pet hair or Debris” filed on Jun. 18, 2015, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

The present invention is directed to a coated glove that may be used for removal of debris, such as pet hair, from household surfaces such as carpeting, upholstered chairs, curtains or drapes, or other household surfaces. The coating on the glove provides a tacky surface. When a user wipes the glove over a surface to be cleaned, debris on the surface, such as pet hair, sticks to the tacky surface of the glove and is removed from the surface being cleaned. The debris can then be washed from the surface of the glove using water or other cleaning liquids.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top view of the palm side of a glove of an embodiment of the present invention wherein the fingers and thumb are entirely covered.

FIG. 2 is a top view of the palm side of a glove of an embodiment of the present invention wherein the fingers and thumb are partially covered.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to FIG. 1, the present invention is directed to a coated glove 10. The glove may be a typical glove entirely covering the fingers 12 and thumb 14. The glove may be made of any appropriate material for making a glove, such as for example cotton, polyester, nylon, fabric blends, plastics or rubber. If made with a plastic or rubber, the glove may have a thin fabric inner lining. In one embodiment, the glove is a seamless knit glove made from a cotton/polyester blend. The glove may have a knit wrist cuff 16.

The palm of the glove and the fingers on the palm side of the glove are coated with a thermoplastic rubber (TPR) 18 that is sufficiently tacky to allow debris such as pet hair to adhere to the surface of the glove. The opposite side of the glove covering the back of the hand, or the entire outer surface of the glove, may also be coated with the TPR material if desired. Any appropriate TPR material may be used, such as for example, styrenic block copolymers, polyolefin blends, elastomeric alloys, thermoplastic polyurethanes, thermoplastic copolyester, thermoplastic polyamides, or combinations of these materials.

The tackiness of the surface of the glove may be controlled by adjusting the curing conditions of the TPR, or by adding selected solvents or other additives. In addition, if desired, the TPR layer may include other additives or coatings, such as antimicrobials.

The thickness of the coating should be sufficient to provide good wear for the glove, while retaining sufficient flexibility to allow the hand to follow contours in the surface being cleaned. In some embodiments, the coating thickness may range from about 50 microns to about 1000 microns. The invention is not limited in this regarding, and any desired thickness of the coating may be used.

The surface of the TPR material may be smooth or textured. As shown in FIG. 1, a textured surface may include raised areas 20 where the coating is thicker than in adjacent non-raised areas 22. A textured surface can provide edges 24 to assist in scraping material from the surface being cleaned.

In another embodiment, shown in FIG. 2, the glove 10 may only partially cover the fingers 26 and thumb 28. This allows the fingertips to easily grasp objects that may be present on the surface being cleaned if, for example, an object needs to be moved to allow cleaning of the adjacent or underlying surface. In this embodiment, the glove, glove materials, coating materials and coating thickness may be as described above.

In use, a user wears the glove on the hand and wipes the palm side of the glove over the surface to be cleaned. Debris present on the surface to be cleaned, such as for example pet hair, is adhered to the surface of the tacky surface of the TPR as the surface of the glove is wiped across the surface. As the surface of the glove becomes covered with debris, it must be cleaned to remove the debris for further cleaning. The surface of the glove can be washed using water, which may be soapy water, or another acceptable cleaner may be used. After cleaning, the glove may be dried and used for further cleaning.

While several embodiments have been disclosed, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that the present invention include many more embodiments and implementations. Accordingly, the present invention are not to be restricted except in light of the attached claims and their equivalents. It will also be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that variations and modifications can be made without departing from the true scope of the present disclosure. For example, in some instances, one or more features disclosed in connection with one embodiment can be used alone or in combination with one or more features of one or more other embodiments.

Claims

1. A glove for cleaning debris from a surface comprising:

(a) a glove comprising a plurality of finger openings configured to receive fingers of a human therein, a palm portion configured to cover the human's palm, and a back hand portion to cover the back of the human's hand;

(b) a coating on at least the palm portion wherein the coating comprise a thermoplastic polymer.

2. The glove of claim 1, wherein the glove is comprised of a cotton/polyester blend.

3. The glove of claim 2, wherein the coating is selected from the group consisting of styrenic block copolymers, polyolefin blends, elastomeric alloys, thermoplastic polyurethanes, thermoplastic copolyester, thermoplastic polyamides, or combinations thereof.

4. The glove of claim 3, wherein the coating on the palm portion of the glove is textured.

5. The glove of claim 4, wherein the glove covers only a portion of the user's fingers.